Apparatus for controlling die operations



May 27, 1952 w. R. PLACE APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING DIE OPERATIONS FiledApril 15, 1948 we K.s Z W n r en vR J 5% May 27, 1952 w. R. PLACEAPPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING DIE OPERATIONS Filed April 123, 1948 2SHEETS-SHEET 2 6 y me n m mm w r a 8 w w T Patented May 27, 1952APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING DIE OPERATIONS Walter R. Place, Glen Ridge, N.J.

Application April 13, 1948, Serial No. 20,726

6 Claims. (01. 74-568) dies or associated operative parts whichnaturally involves a great loss of time and expense for labor. It is amain object of this invention to be able to adjust and control thetiming and operation of die members without any appreciable loss of timeand without in any way dismantling the machine.

In the operation of dies for performing a series of operations on ablank, it is exceedingly important that the successive operationsthereon be timed with exactitude, and it is another object of thisinvention to be able to adjust the timing operations accurately within amatter of a few minutes.

It is also essential to the efiicient operation of the machine that assoon as the operations on the blank have been completed, the blank-bequickly and efficiently removed from the die so that a fresh blank maybe instantly substituted and thereby not interrupt the operation of themachine. It is, therefore, a further object of the invention to providenovel and efficient means connected with the timing operations of theapparatus to rapidly and efficiently kick the blank out of the die atthe proper moment.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will moreclearly appear from a consideration of the detailed specificationhereinafter set forth, especially when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate a present preferred form whichthe invention may assume and which form part of the specification.

In brief and general terms, the invention relates to a draw press havinga frame with an operating head at the top and a base plate at thebottom; a power shaft; a crank arm and a connecting rod related to thecrank arm at one end and to a slide block at the other on which aportion of the die member is mounted for cyclical reciprocation in thframe to and from a fixed die member. Preferably the cyclically operateddie member is a portion of the female die member and is related to theoperation in the matter of forming the blank. Associated with thiscyclically operated z female forming die member is an enclosed othersection of said die member in the form of a plate whose function is toclamp the blank on the top of the male di member and hold it in positionthereon while various forming operations take place. This movable dieplate is independently operated by means of linkages connected andassociated with the cam mounted on the power shaft at the top of themachine so that the operation of this die plate is timed in itsoperation with respect to the operation of the other members.

The linkage connecting the cam with the independently operated die plateare so constructed as to be adjustable in a matter of a few minutes toalter the effective length thereof, as desired. The cam is made insections embracing a cheek of the power shaft and provided withadjusting means whereby in a matter of a few minutes the angularity ofthe cam sections with respect to the shaft may be altered at will alsoto control and adjust the timing operations.

The cam is also provided with a special high point in the form of aprotuberance which gives the movable die plate a rapid kick at theproper point in the cycle to kick the blank out of the die.

Further advantageous features will be apparent from the consideration ofthe following specification, especially when taken in connection withthe detailed drawings which form part of the specification.

Th present preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in thedrawings, of which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the press;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, with portions shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the main cam at the point of maximumpressure on the blank;

Fig. 4 is a cross section, enlarged, of the die members in separatedcondition and showing the blank kicked out of the female die member;

Fig, 5 is a partial enlarged section of the die members engaging theblank just before the lower edge is curled; and

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the relation of the parts when the edgeof the blank has been curled.

Referring now merely to the specific form of the invention shown in thedrawings, it is to be seen that the invention is related to a press ofstandard type having a fram member It], with a lower die II and a headportion I 2. The lower die ll rests on the die plate ll prime. A powershaft I3 is jcurnalled in the head portion I2 and supports a, camdenoted generally by the letter A and a crank pin denoted by the letterB. Conneced to the crank pin B is a connecting rod element I4 which isconnected at its lower end to a slide block I5 having side elements I6with lateral ribs I1 sliding in suitable grooves (not shown) in theframe lo. These side elements I 6 extend down and are connected at theirbottom to a movable die block I8 having apertures I9 therein to receiveguide posts 20 supported on the die plate II, thereby'guiding thevertical movement of the block I8.

Disposed on the lower die I I is a male die member 2I surrounded by anannlar die member 22- iixed to the plate I I and spaced from the memberH, to provide a guide space to permit vertical movement of certainforming elements one of which 23 is in the form of a ring surroundingthemember 2i and has a forming groove 24 on its upper surface. This ring 23is supported for vertical movement with respect to the die member 2i oneseries of rods 25 depending through apertures in the plate II andsupported on a plate 26.

This plate 25 rests on top of a block of resilient.

material 27 on the bottom of which is also disposed another plate 28.The plate 28 is fixedly connected to the plate II by means of a bolt 23extending up through a hole in the plate 25. It is seen, therefore, thatthe plate 26 may be depressed to compress the resilient block 21 andwill be sprung up quickly when the pressure on it is released.

Fixed to and dependent from the bottom of the die block I8 is anotherring-shaped forming die member 33, the inner lower edge of which iscurved as at 3i to cooperate with the groove 24 in the die ring 23 toachieve a forming operation such as a curling operation to be laterdescribed and shown. Housed within the die member 38 is a separatelymovable die plate 32 adapted when in full operative position shown inFig. 2 to press a blank C against the upper face of the die block 2i.This die plate 32 is separately movable with respect to the forming ring33 by being supported on a stem 33 which extends up through an aperturein the block I8 and through a cylindrical sleeve 3 2 inte rally formedon the upper surface of said block. In this-sleeve is disposed a slidinghollow cap 35 to which is fastened the upper end of the stem 33, and aspring 3% is coiled Within the sleeve around the stem and tends to holdthe cap upwardly in the sleeve 34.

On the iront face of the slide block l5 at the lower portion thereof isfixed a bracket member 33 which acts as a journal for a shaft 39 on oneend of which is fixed an arm 49, the end of which contacts the cap 35 byreason or a protuberance BI on its lower face as seen in dotted lines inFig. l. The other end of the shaft 39 carries a similar arm 42 with asimilar protuberance 43 on its upper face.

In order to operate the arm 42 and thereby the movable die plate 32,there is provided a sleeve casing 44 which is fixed to and moves withthe slide block I5 as seen in Fig. 2. Within this sleeve casing aredisposed a pair of movable links 45 and 45 which by means of well knownbolt and slot arrangements are adapted to be adjusted with respect toeach other, whereby the effective length of the links as a whole may bealtered as desired. At its bottom the link 45 contacts with theprotuberance 43 on the arm 42 and at its upper end the other link 46 iswidened out at 41 and supports a roller lt adapted ina manner to bedescribed to cooperatewith the, cam member A.- A set screw 49 extendsbetween the upper 4 end of link and the lower face of the widenedportion 41 of the link 45 so as to maintain and establish the adjustmentbetween these two links.

The cam A with which the upper end of these links contact is formed asfollows:

A rotary check 50 is on the main shaft I3 and has curved opposite edges5! and 52. The cam element is adapted to be disposed around this cheekand is sectional. One section is numerated 53" and the other isnumerated 54 and each has an inner surface conforming to the curvatureof the respective faces of the cheek 5B. In the form shown the camsection 54 is much narrower than the section 53, and there may beprovided a filler section 55 between it and the surface 52 whichmay'be'bolted to the cheek 50 as shown. In other forms this. section 54and the filler 55 may be of one piece.

The respective opposite ends of the sections 53 and 54 are connected byconnector pieces or blocks 56 and 57. (Fig. 3)- which are boltedandscrewed to the, respective cam sections at their opposite ends. Theconnector blocks are spaced from the sideszof the cheek 5d and betweenthem extend set screws 58, which are used for angularl adjusting the camsections on the cheek 5E1. When thescrews are loosened the cam unit asawhole may be angularly moved around the cheek 50 and then the screwsmay be tightened to set the parts in theadjusted position. This enablesthe timing operation of. the cam with respect to the other elements withwhich it cooperates to be adjusted at will to produce exactly the timingschedule desired.

On the outer surface of the cam section 54 is disposed an integralprotuberant portion 59 which as it comes around over the roller 68 willgive it a short kick for purposes to be explained later.

The operation of the device will now be briefly set forth beginning withthe parts in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In this position plate32 is tightly holding the blank 0 on the die member 2i and the formingring 30 has cut and formed the sides of the blank C and has pressed theforming member 2 3 downwardly with the reing this curling operation thedie plate 32 is tightly holding the blank against the male diemember'ZI.

Immediately after the curling operation a point of the cam is-reachedwhere the curve drops off rapidly and allows the spring 33 to push upthe stem 33 and thereby pull. up the plate 32 to theposition shown inFig. 4. After the cam A has moved approximately from the position shownin Fig. l, the protuberance 59 thereon will encounter the roller 48 andgive the plate 32 a quick kick downward against the resistance of spring36 which will force the blank C out of the upper die member as shown inFig. 4. At this point another blank may be inserted and laid on top ofthe die member 21 after which the die member 30 descends and cuts theblank in cooperation with the die member 22. Then the plate'32 descendsto hold the out blank while further descent of. the die member 30 formsthe sides of the out portion and moves the parts to the position shownin Fig. 5 which is the lowermost position assumed thereby.

It seems perfectly clear that by being able to independently adjust therelation of the connector links and #5 by reason of their ball and slotadjustment means and the fine adjustment afiorded by the set screw E9,the effective length of this linkage can be determined very finely. Itis also apparent that by means of the set screw 58 shown in Fig. 3, thecam sections may be turned to a fine degree to adjust them on the check56 so as to accurately determine th timing of the various portions ofthe cam. It is also clear that these adjustments can be made in aminimum of time and with a minimum of effort and without in any wayhaving to dismantle the machine so that a great saving of time and laborresults.

While the invention has been described in detail and shown with respectto the accompanying drawing, it is not to be limited to such details,since many changes and modifications may be made in the inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Hence, it isintended to cover any and all forms and modifications of the inventionwhich may come within the language and scope of any one or more of theappended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a draw press having a power shaft, a rotating cheek fixed to theshaft and having curved surfaces, a plurality of cam sections disposedaround and embracing the periphery of said check, blocks adjustablyconnecting corresponding opposite ends of said sections to adjust theirgrip on the cheek, means for adjustably tightening the connectionbetween the blocks and the sections, and means associated with the cheekand the sections to adjust the angular position of the sections on thecheek whereby the timing operations of the cam may be adjusted.

2. In a draw press, a power shaft, a rotating cheek fixed thereto andhaving curved peripheral surfaces, a plurality of cam sections disposedaround said check and having inner surfaces curved similarly tocurvature of the cheek and outer cam surfaces, blocks adjustablyconnecting corresponding opposite ends of said sections to adjust thegrip of the sections on the cheek, means for adjustably tightening theconnection between the blocks and the sections, and set screws on thesections and engaging the cheek to adjust the angularity of the sectionswith respect to the cheek whereby the timing action of the cam may bevaried.

3. In a draw press having a power shaft, a rotating cheek fixed to theshaft and having oppositely disposed surfaces, a pair of cam sectionsdisposed around and against the peripheries of said surfaces, connectorblocks disposed between corresponding opposite ends of said camsections, means for adjustably tightening the connection between theblocks and said sections to tighten the contact between the sections andthe curved surfaces, and set screws on the blocks engaging the cheek tofix the cam sections in any adjusted position.

4. In a draw press having a power shaft, a rotating cheek fixed to theshaft, said check having oppositely disposed curved surfaces andintermediate straight surfaces, a pair of cam sections disposed aroundand against the peripheries of said curved surfaces, connector blocksdisposed between corresponding opposite ends of said cam sections andparallel to and spaced from said straight surfaces, means for adjustablytightening the connection between the blocks and said sections totighten the contact between the sections and the curved surfaces, andset screws on the blocks adjustable to engage the adjacent straight sideof the cheek to fix the cam sections in any adjusted position.

5. In a draw press having a power shaft, a rotating cheek fixed to theshaft and having oppositely disposed surfaces, a pair of cam sectionsdisposed around and against the peripheries of said surfaces, connectorblocks disposed between corresponding opposite ends of said camsections, means for adjustably tightening the connection between theblocks and said sections to tighten the contact between the sections andthe curved surfaces, and set screws on the blocks engaging the cheek tofix the cam sections in any adjusted position, and a filler sectiondisposed between a cam section and the adjacent curved surface of thecheck.

5. In a draw press having a power shaft, a rotating cheek fixed to theshaft, said check having oppositely disposed curved surfaces andintermediate straight surfaces, a pair of cam sections disposed aroundand against the peripheries of said curved surfaces, connector blocksdisposed between corresponding opposite ends of said cam sections andparallel to and spaced from said straight surfaces, means for adjustablytightening the connection between the sections and the curved surfaces,and set screws on the blocks adjustable to engage the adjacent straightside of the cheek to fix the cam sections in any adjusted position, anda filler section disposed between a cam section and the adjacent curvedsurface of the cheek.

WALTER R. PLACE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 146,193 Mallinckrodt Jan. 6, 1874970,092 McDonald Sept. 13, 1910 1,353,493 Pierson Sept. 21, 19201,464,589 Talbot Aug. 14, 1923 1,500,281 Starnes July 8, 1924 1,553,675Douglas Sept. 15, 1925 1,876,161 Zazzara Sept. 6, 1932 2,136,933Calleson Nov. 15, 1938 2,150,890 Franghia Mar. 14, 1939

